Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/208

 170 NORTH-WEST AFEICA. south, with a meaii breadth from east to west of over half a mile. The central quarter, which the people still designate as Medina, the " Town," in a pre-eminent sense, is of an irregular oval shape, its long axis running due north and south throughout nearly the whole of its circumference ; it is still surrounded by an ancient muII connectetl with the fortifications of the kasbah. The northern suburb of liab-es-Suiku and the southern quarter of Bab-el-Jezira (Bab-ez-Zirah) are also surrounded by an enclosure consisting of a broken line of ramparts, which, from the quadrilateral kasbah standing on the hill, stretches from bastion to bastion; but to the east— that is, on the side of the Bahira— these walls have disappeared, yielding as it were to the pressure of the population, which overflows its limits, and quite a new quarter has sprung up along both sides of the central avenue. The Marina, as this quarter is called, runs in the direction of the platform, skirted by jetties, where begins the navigable channel of the lagoon. Since the first years of this century, the border zone of the Bahira has increased by at least 2,330 feet; it daily grows larger, thanks to the alluvia brought down by the drains, and excavations made in the lands covered with buildings. The low level of the soil renders this " Xcw Tunis " the most unhealthy quarter of the town ; but this place, where stand the two railway stations and the port, and where one day will rise the town hall, the law courts, theatre, and exchange, has the advantage of presenting to the builders an unlimited space, and already long rectilinear perspectives have been develo])ed at right angles between the white houses of the European quarter. This perspective will no doubt be one day prolonged across the network of the thirteen hundred sti'eets of the old town. In the vicinity of the kasbah the work of demolition has already begun, leaving open avenues between the public monuments. The circular boulevard, which is now being made round the " Medina," properly so called, is the forerunner of a system of thoroughfares planned in the European style. As in so many other towns, this change, it is to be feared, will be accomplished in a somewhat reckless fashion. Few of the picturesque Moorish houses will gain the benefits of fresh air, light, and comfort, without sacrificing their characteristic features, such as arcades and arabesques, and thus becoming mere formless blocks of stone. However, the exquisite art of the house decorator has not yet been quite lost, and it would be deplorable to allow it to perish. The streets of Old Tunis are naturally much more picturesque and less formal than the regular thoroughfares of the European quarter. None of them are laid down on straight lines, but everywhere present gables, angles, projections and curvos, radiating in all directions. The streets are crossed overhead by roofed arches of various heights, some mere arcades uniting two houses facing each other, others bearing two or three stages on their interlaced groinings. Some of these arches are long enough to form veritable galleries, like those of the Berber town^ in the oases. Columns of marble, brought from Carthage, support these arcades, or else enframe the doors of the houses with their endlessly varied capitals. Wild flowers grow in the crevices of the arches, while trees have sprung up at the comers of the streets, overshadowing some shop, or the seats of a restaurant.